1. يومٌ لنا بالنيل مختصرُ

    ولكل يوم مسرّةٍ قِصَرُ

    Our day upon the Nile is brief;

    and every day of joy is short.

  2. والسُفْنُ تَصعَد كالخيول بنا

    في موجه والماء يَنحدر

    And the ships carry us upstream like horses

    through its waves, while the water flows down.

  3. فكأنما أمواجه عُكَنٌ

    وكأنما داراته سُرَر

    So its waves seem like folds of belly skin,

    and its circles seem like navels.